INSIDE THE BLACKHAWKS.

Shutout Adds Belfour's Name To Exclusive List

Also Leaves Goaltender 2 Shy Of 200 Victories

November 11, 1996|By Rich Strom, Tribune Staff Writer.

Ed Belfour joined some pretty elite company Sunday night in the Blackhawks' 2-0 victory over Ottawa.

He became the 28th goaltender in NHL history with 30 or more shutouts, and he moved within two victories of becoming the third Hawks goalie to have 200, the others being Hall of Famers Tony Esposito (418) and Glenn Hall (275).

Belfour handled it with a shrug.

"I don't know if it means anything, No. 30," he said. "I don't think about it that much. It has a lot to do with the pride of Chicago Blackhawk defense."

Indeed, he did a great job holding the Senators in the first period, stopping 10 shots. Then the defense took over, limiting Ottawa to 14 shots the rest of the way.

"I think I had some good luck tonight," Belfour said. "I came up with a few good saves, but you have to have some luck to get a shutout.

"It won't be my last."

Home cookin'? Remember the days when an opponent came into your home arena and never left with a smile on its face? The home team ruled. That seems to have changed, at least for teams with relatively new arenas, and Chicago is included in the trend.

The Hawks are 5-5 at home after Sunday's victory. On the road, they're 5-1-2.

There's something wrong with this picture.

"Our wives can't cook," deadpanned Gary Suter, searching for an explanation for the struggles at home.

"Teams are more comfortable on the road," said coach Craig Hartsburg. "The intimidation factor isn't there like it used to be."

Perhaps the new, sterile arenas, where fans seem to be more concerned with how close they are to the food than the ice, has something to do with it. And perhaps the home team is a little too comfortable at home and doesn't pay as close attention to minor details.

"For some reason, we seem more focused on the road," said Suter. "We seem to get more bounces."

The Hawks, who were 11-10-3 in 1994-95 at the United Center and 22-13-6 last season, aren't alone. The Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Hawks beat Saturday 4-1--on the road--are 4-5 in their new CoreStates Center. Tampa Bay is 1-4-2 in its new Ice Palace, 5-3 on the road. The new FleetCenter hasn't been good to the Boston Bruins, who are 1-5-3 there, 4-2 on the road. St. Louis (3-4) and Phoenix (2-5-2) are also below .500 at home.

"It's frustrating," said the Flyers' Shjon Podein. "You start working so hard that you start pressing and get impatient."

Hartsburg sees the same things with his club at the UC.

"If we just play good hard, patient hockey, we'll be fine," he said.

It worked Sunday.

Milestone: Tony Amonte's assist on Eric Daze's goal Saturday marked the 300th point of his career. He added an empty-net goal Saturday and an assist Sunday and now has 55 goals and 117 points since being traded to the Hawks from the New York Rangers during the 1993-94 season.

Attendance watch: Before Sunday, the Hawks had drawn 157,043 paid customers in nine home games, an average of 17,449. In the first nine home games last season, they drew 165,859, an average of 18,429. In the 10th game last season, a sellout crowd of 20,504 was on hand. Sunday's crowd was 17,326.